REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Elena Ponomareva-Piquier, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section of the United Nations Office at Geneva, chaired the briefing which was attended by spokespersons for the World Health Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Food Program, the International Organization for Migration, the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Statement of the Secretary-General on the Prime Minister of Israel

The Secretary-General was deeply concerned about the health of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said. He was following developments closely and very much hoped that the Prime Minister will make a speedy recovery. His thoughts were with Mr. Sharon and his family, as well as with the Government and people of Israel. The text of his declaration was available in the Press Room.

Sudan

The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) has reduced the presence of UN staff and restricted staff access in parts of West Darfur following increased security concerns there. The decision was taken due to the increasing instability in the affected areas, including a build-up of forces on either side of the Sudan-Chad border with increased potential for armed conflict. UNMIS will monitor the situation and carry out a fresh security assessment of the affected area in the next two to three weeks.

The Secretary-General, in his latest report to the Security Council on Sudan, said that serious concerns remained about the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement dealing with southern Sudan. In Darfur, he said that security on the ground must urgently improve and the search for a durable political peace, including a permanent ceasefire, must be intensified. Those who continue impeding the peaceful resolution of the conflict should know that they would be held accountable.

Meanwhile, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk, was on his way to Abuja to attend the latest round of talks there on Darfur. In a press briefing yesterday, Pronk said he was concerned about the slow pace of negotiations at the talks, and was disappointed that the objective of concluding the talks successfully by the end of last year didn’t occur. The text of the Secretary-General’s report was also available in the Documentation Center, Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said.

Geneva Meetings

The Committee on the Rights of the Child will meet at the Palais Wilson in Geneva from 9 to 27 January 2006 to review the promotion and protection of children's rights in Peru, Ghana, Liechtenstein, Trinidad and Tobago, Hungary, Lithuania, Azerbaijan, Mauritius, Saudi Arabia and Thailand, Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said. Switzerland and Bangladesh are also presenting reports under the Convention’s Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict. Kazakhstan and Morocco are presenting reports under the Convention’s Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Andorra is presenting its reports to both Optional Protocols. This will be the first time that the Committee will meet in two concurrent chambers to help overcome its backlog in consideration of reports.

The Working Group on the Right to Development will be holding it’s seventh session from 9 to 13 January in Room XVII, and its meetings would be open to the public. Its Plan of Work was available. The Group of Independent Eminent Experts on the application of the Durban Declaration Plan of Action would hold its third session from 11 to 13 January in Room X, and its meetings would be open to the public, Ms. Ponomareva-Piquier said.

Finally, she reminded the assembled Press that Tuesday 10 January was an official United Nations holiday. The next press briefing would therefore take place on Friday 13 January.

Avian Flu

Fadela Chaib, speaking for the World Health Organization, said with regards to cases of avian flu that had been reported in Turkey, contradictory figures had been reported, however, the WHO was aware of 2 adolescents that had died of avian flu. There had been press reports of a third death, however this was not yet confirmed. Turkish authorities had reported 18 suspect cases of hospitalisation to the WHO, and these came from different families and different areas of Van Province. Samples had been sent to London for tests, and results of these were expected next week. Following a request by the Ministry of Health, WHO had sent a team of five experts to Turkey, including an epidemiologist, a virologist, a veterinary epidemiologist, a infection control specialist and a public health official. The objectives of the mission are, in collaboration with the Turkish Ministry of Health, to review the current epidemiological situation, including the number of human influenza cases and the areas they come from. Together with the national authorities, the need for further collaboration will then be defined. Turkey came under the European office of the WHO that was in Copenhagen, and therefore further information would be available both on the WHO website and on that of the Copenhagen office.

In response to questions, Ms. Chaib said that these cases were appearing in a region that had already reported cases of flu among birds many months ago. The situation would be examined to discover if there had been the first cases of transmission between humans, in which case an epidemic could take place. However, this was not yet confirmed. The children concerned had been in contact with sick birds, and this was how they had been contaminated. Every country should however have a national plan to deal with the situation, but there was no need for panic, as the avian flu was currently only present in one province. WHO was recommending culling in order to break the chain of transmission between animals and humans. Turkish authorities were not minimising the situation, and the level of collaboration was currently excellent.

Humanitarian Efforts for Victims of South Asia Earthquake

Elizabeth Byrs, speaking for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said the appeal for funds had finally passed 50%, and currently 55.1% of the appeal had been funded, with 304.1 million USD currently received, and 10.4 million USD promised, which when received would fund the appeal to 57%. This would enable the continuing effort. The weather had not allowed the helicopters providing aid to fly over the first three days of January, but flights had resumed on Thursday, bringing urgent aid including items to winterise tents further. Snow had caused some tents to collapse, and strong rains had meant that some people had had to be relocated. Weather was improving, but the cold was increasing. UN agencies were taking urgent measures in order to ensure there wouldn’t be a second wave of dead due to this new enemy, but unfortunately there were also cases. Aid would have to continue for over 2 million people until the end of April, and this was why there was a need for continued funding.

Ron Redmond, speaking for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said it was currently supporting the Pakistan Government and NGOs in 139 earthquake relief camps, 26 planned and 113 spontaneous sites, which were altogether housing more than 137’000 people. Despite the bad weather, there had been no mass movements from the mountains and upper valleys to camps at lower elevations, but UNHCR was prepared to receive 50’000 more people in camps. The recent storm had caused some tents to collapse under the weight of the heavy snowfall, and a few camps had been flooded. UNHCR teams had distributed additional emergency supplies to camp dwellers. 500 winterised tents had been identified to replace some tents in spontaneous camps that would not withstand the winter, and had also recently completed its latest round of winterisation. Awareness campaigns on fire safety and prevention were also starting. In response to a question, Mr. Redmond said that there was no increase in deaths in the spontaneous camps due to the cold, but these camps would be consolidated further.

Jean-Philippe Chauzy, speaking for the International Organization for Migration, said there was a strong risk of fires for those living in tents, and this was why the IOM and other Organizations had been running an information campaign on local radio in order to inform the local population of the danger. Another information campaign would be launched jointly with the UNHCR in order to improve the way in which tents were pitched in order to increase their resistance to heavy loads of snow. The challenge over the next few weeks of the winter would be to continue the delivery of aid in order to ensure that the most vulnerable, children and the elderly, did not suffer.

Christiane Berthiaume, speaking for the World Food Programme, said the next few months would be very difficult, in particular for the 400’000 people above 1’500 metres, as it was very difficult to bring aid in, especially in bad weather conditions which could again stop the helicopters bringing in aid from flying. Many roads were still blocked. The WFP had distributed more than 3’000 tons of food in the region since 27 December.

Human Rights

Praveen Randhawa, speaking for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour would undertake an official mission to Uganda from 7 to 14 January 2006. The mission, the first by a High Commissioner for Human Rights, would focus on the general human rights situation in Uganda in keeping with her mandate; as well as on the protection of civilians, particularly Internally Displaced Persons; the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights; and the United Nations human rights presence in the country. Yesterday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called for full respect for international humanitarian and human rights law in Nepal’s armed conflict, following the end of a four-month unilateral ceasefire by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). She also made a statement on 4 January regretting the arrest of human rights activists on charges of defamation in Cambodia.

The Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Mr. Doudou Diène, will undertake a visit to Switzerland from 9 to 13 January 2006 at the invitation of the Swiss authorities. The Special Rapporteur will travel to three linguistic regions of Switzerland and will visit the cities of Bellinzona, Bern, Basel and Neuchâtel. During the visit the Special Rapporteur will investigate allegations of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance and the measures and policies adopted to combat them. He is scheduled to meet with representatives of the Swiss Federal Government and canton authorities, representatives of non-governmental organizations, associations and communities, and other parts of civil society.

Other

Christiane Berthiaume, speaking for the World Food Programme, said in Zambia, as the WFP had warned on 23 December 2005, due to the lack of resources, the food rations distributed to the 82’000 Angolans and Congolese refugees in Zambia had been cut in half. The last money received had been in July 2005, since which date nothing had been donated. The situation had been explained to the refugees, and they had been shown how to manage their rations. These refugees were entirely dependent on the WFP for food. The situation was currently stable in the camps, but this could change. The drought in Zambia meant that there was currently more than 1 million Zambians also requiring aid. A drought was also occurring in Kenya, and the WFP was currently helping more than 1 million people, but estimated that it would have to provide aid for 2.5 million people more if the drought persisted. WFP needed also needed funds for this, and could need up to 186 million USD.

Elizabeth Byrs, speaking for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said torrential rains triggered landslides in the village of Sijeruk in Indonesia's Central Java province yesterday, burying 102 out of 184 houses. At least 29 deaths had been reported. Several hundred people had been displaced by the landslides. National authorities continued search and rescue activities, but were hampered by limited infrastructure and heavy rainfalls. OCHA was in contact with the affected district's disaster management authorities. A joint assessment mission including the Office of the Resident Coordinator, UNDP, UNICEF and Oxfam (UK) was scheduled to begin today. Further, flash floods and landslides in Indonesia's East Java province killed 77 people last weekend. More than 7700 people had been displaced in Jember District by the flooding and landslides, which affected 10 sub-districts on 1 January, with Panti sub-district the hardest hit. More than 400 houses have been damaged. OCHA remained in contact with the District's disaster management authorities. UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP) wee currently undertaking a needs assessment in Jember District. OCHA was joining that assessment mission today. A press conference would be held on 12 January on the humanitarian appeals that had been launched in November by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in New York. This would follow on from a donor’s conference at which the situation would be explained for 2006. Antonio Guterres, High Commissioner for Refugees would participate, as would Toni Frisch, the Head of the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit.

Ron Redmond, speaking for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said UNHCR staff were now in the second day of interviews for more than 600 Sudanese who had been held in three detention centres on the outskirts of Cairo since last Friday, and had been detained after their three-month sit-in protest in a Cairo park ended tragically in a confrontation that left several people dead and injured. The Egyptian authorities had given UNHCR three days to assess the legal status of the detainees and their possible need for international protection. In response to a question, Mr. Redmond said none of the Sudanese had yet been deported.

Jean-Philippe Chauzy, speaking for the International Organization for Migration, said the IOM was currently providing medical and psychological support to a group of 24 Ukrainian nationals forced to work in slave-like conditions on board a Russian fishing vessel. They had been physically and psychologically abused, forced to work for 18 hours a day without pay for between six to ten months, and starved. They had only been rescued by accident. IOM had opened five Centres for Migrant Advice in partnership with the Ukrainian Government and civil society, and they provided information on the current realities and possible dangers that labour migrants could face abroad and the consequences of irregular entry and stay in foreign countries.